Raging across the country, threatening businesses and residences alike, wildfires are a reality, burning a reported 1.
9 million acres in the U.S. so far this year. West of Santa Barbara, firefighters have battled an intense fire for almost a week. Wildfires are also burning in Arizona and New Mexico. In Canada, the Fort McMurray blaze burned for weeks and scorched some 2,400 square miles of land—more than 1.4 million acres. In five of the past 10 years, in fact, wildfires have ranked among the top 20 worldwide loss events.
Companies that haven’t already done so may want to assess the impact such a disaster could have on their business as well as what actions can be taken to mitigate damage.
While most businesses believe they are prepared for a fire, especially if their building is equipped with fire alarms, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and an evacuation plan, these measures may not be enough when stress and confusion take over, according to Interstate.
Organizations could face utility interruption, impacting gas and phone sy
stems; they may have flooding from sprinklers, which, mixed with soot, can cause other complications; there may be smoke damage, which can by carried throughout a building through air conditioning systems; and there can be chemical residue from fire suppression systems.
There also may be asbestos hazards from older building materials, ceiling and floor tiles and pipe insulation.
Planning ahead for data loss resulting from damaged computers and burned paper documents is also advised.
Interstate lists four questions companies need to ask in advance of such a disaster:
